World

ByCompiled from wire service reports by Robert Kilborn and Ross AtkinDecember 8, 2004

Parliament adjourned its emergency session in Ukraine without a decision on changes in the election laws, and outgoing President Leonid Kuchma reversed course and denied that he'd agreed to any such moves. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich broke his silence and said he'd be a candidate in the Dec. 26 second runoff election to succeed Kuchma, as ordered by the Supreme Court.

Thirty-four suspected terrorists were captured by US forces in Iraq, and Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh blamed neighboring countries for not doing enough to keep their nationals from joining the ranks of those trying to derail next month's crucial election. More than 80 members of Iraqi security units have been killed since Friday, as terrorists have taken advantage of their inexperience, which leaves them more vulnerable than US troops. Meanwhile, terrorists bombed two churches in Mosul in at least the fourth attack on Christians since August.

While acknowledging a daunting agenda for the next five years, Afghan President Hamid Karzai accepted his oath of office, speaking of "a new chapter in our history." Karzai then swore in two vice presidents, one representing each of Afghanistan's largest ethnic minorities. The ceremonies in Kabul were undisturbed by terrorist attacks, but suspected Taliban remnants targeted border security units on the Pakistan frontier, and at least 12 men died in exchanges of gunfire. Karzai has vowed to crack down on the opium trade, disarm the militias of regional warlords, and raise living standards.

Documentary photos of the destruction of Irish Republican Army weapons must be a condition of a lasting settlement with Protestants, a leading Northern Ireland politician insisted. But while Catholics and Protestants appeared tantalizingly close to a new deal on sharing power, the Rev. Ian Paisley's terms are an almost certain roadblock, analysts said. The IRA, they noted, styles itself as an undefeated fighting force, and submitting to such a condition would be humiliating. Sinn Fein, the IRA's political ally, has said such photos are unacceptable. British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Irish counterpart, Bertie Ahern, are to detail their own blueprint for Northern Ireland peace Wednesday in Belfast.

Voters were on line at dawn for the fourth presidential election since 1992 in Ghana, one of Africa's strongest democracies. The balloting is expected to result in a new term for incumbent John Kufuor, under whom the cocoa- and gold-producing nation has experienced stability. Ex-Vice President John Atta Mills, who challenged Kufuor in 2000, appeared to be the strongest of three opponents.